


if she’s here, it’s crystal clear (i’m where i’m meant to go)

by evenwhenitsraining



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Emotional Fluff, F/F, Fluff, it’s actually their real wedding, not karolina’s algorithm, not nico’s hopes, or what i think it is, very soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:21:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21987331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evenwhenitsraining/pseuds/evenwhenitsraining
Summary: Karolina isn’t really shocked that Nico wants to marry her, not really. In fact, she’s had her suspicions when Tandy pulled that light and dark impromptu speech on her years ago. But she still can’t help but shed a tear or two, because the girl she wants to marry in her best dreams wants to marry her in her best hopes. (title from “i see the light” from the tangled soundtrack)
Relationships: Karolina Dean/Nico Minoru, background Chase Stein/Gertrude Yorkes
Comments: 12
Kudos: 175





	if she’s here, it’s crystal clear (i’m where i’m meant to go)

**Author's Note:**

> (written and posted december 27, 2019) 
> 
> my written take on the [real] deanoru wedding. also this is my first time writing a deanoru fic with no angst ever, like wow, merry christmas to me. and to you, consider this a late holiday present.

Karolina feels a sigh of imminent, impeccable, almost immortal sigh of relief. She releases a breath she didn’t even know she was holding, a breath that was there since the beginning of time that it almost felt like a constant, something permanent that it had taken half the space of her lungs.

Karolina looks down and sees waves of white that resemble a sea of snow that covers the heels she struggles to walk immaculately in. She looks around— a multitude, a rainbow of colors of flowers that adorned the makeshift arc, the metal pillars covered by the white cloth twisted around it, wooden chairs, and the altar that was merely inches away from her shaking figure. Karolina closed her eyes but somehow the colors seep through the black and she feels herself smiling.

The blonde directs her gaze at Chase, looking so dashing in his tux, a peaceful, subdued smile adorning his face. Their eyes meet for a split second and they both chuckle silently despite the aura of solemnity surrounding them, and Karolina can’t help but mouth ‘how do I look’ with probably the silliest look painted on her face. Chase laughs again and immediately raises a thumbs-up that stays at the air for a few seconds until the cello and the piano starts playing, creating a melody — the cue, actually — breaking them both out of their distant conversation.

(They actually had the same duplicate of the conversation just two hours ago, one that isn’t barricaded by a distance and isn’t surveilled by the guests’ prying eyes and ears.

“How do I look, Chase?”

Chase laughs and tucks a stray piece of a blonde lock behind Karolina’s ears, his wedding ring glimmering, caught up in the light when it passes. He grabs Karolina’s shaking shoulders and straightens and steadies it. Chase smiled for Karolina thinks the thousandth time today.

“I’m not even Nico, and I feel like I’m about to cry.”

It’s Karolina’s turn to giggle. She clears her throat after a second passes. “Well, I’m not Gert, but I can say you’re very handsome in that suit.”)

Karolina’s heart starts to beat faster until she feels it physically thumping against her chest, trying to break free, hands shaking in different directions she feels like the bouquet is screaming at her to stop and be steady.

She looks ahead, and finds herself looking at Gert walking across the carpet advancing towards the altar, looking at her with a smile similar to Chase’s, one that feels so peaceful, so wholesome, so triumphant. She winks at Karolina chuckles for a millisecond. How they’ve come from “I was wondering if you were kinda into Nico” from almost a decade ago, to throwing Karolina a bridal shower that consists of wine and gifts and dancing remain a beautiful, unsolved mystery to her.

Molly follows, and God, Molly’s so grown now.Her eyes still holds the same fiery spirit that has transformed from a spark to a flame through time, one that Karolina’s so fond of. She’s so proud, so proud of Molly for overcoming the obstacles that seemed to corner them in every aspect of their lives — because truthfully, Karolina can’t see herself surviving what they went through if she was Molly’s age. She’s so proud of her, and as Molly flashes a toothy grin in Karolina’s direction, Karolina knows the feeling is mutual.

(“I’m proud of you, Molls,” Karolina ruffles Molly’s hair as she settles at her back, staring at the mirror and observing their reflections. “You look very pretty.”

“And I’m proud of you for finally getting the courage to ask Nico to marry you.”

Karolina almost chokes on her non-existent, imaginary drink but she composes herself and flashes Molly a faux cocky grin. “She almost beat me to it.”)

Gert and Molly take their places next to the altar’s platform opposite to Chase’s side, and Karolina notes how his eyes solely focus on his wife and how his mouth drops open at Gert’s floral gown. Gert, on her innocent part, seems unaware of the attention Chase is offering her right now and is looking sideways ahead of Karolina.

She wonders if that’s how she looks at Nico, and she’s sure that it really is. Karolina looks at her fondly, softly, peacefully, full of love-ly, all kinds of sappy and cheesy adjectives there is. Karolina’s sure that’s how she looks at Nico.

Because, as Karolina directs her gaze forward, her ocean eyes falls on brown eyes and she slowly takes in the rest of Nico. Karolina gets the urge to cry— no, Karolina’s already crying.

Nico, arm in Alex’s, is in her own wedding gown, a similar derivate of Karolina’s one, her raven hair pulled into a simple updo accentuated with a flower crown and her face not filled with too much foundation, her beauty left to the natural way her eyes flutter and brows crease. Her heels, as Karolina had taken a peek into as she takes more steps forward isn’t too raised above the platform, because she knows Nico probably begged both of their mothers to not give her high heels because she loves their height difference, and she, unlike Karolina, cannot be bothered to take walking-in-heels private lessons.

It’s natural. It’s Nico.

(“I’ll never be that girl in your fantasy,” Nico whispers, her hands slightly grasping Karolina’s shoulders.

She raises her head for a few moments and turns to look at the love of her life.

“I want you, Nico. Just the way you are.”)

She can’t forcefully bring herself to look or care about anything else in the moment, not at the way Gert sniffles to her right, not at how Chase visibly wants to run to Nico and Alex to co-escort the latter, not at how Molly is audibly making sounds of awe, not at how Tina is silently sobbing on the first row, not at how how Leslie looks so proud of her future daughter-in-law, or not at how Tandy and Tyrone exchange loving glances at each other upon seeing Karolina’s reaction to Nico.

Karolina breaks out of her trance to see Nico inhaling and exhaling, shoulders rising and falling to the rhythm of time. She sees Alex whisper something to her, squeeze her hand in comfort. She makes a mental note to thank Alex later, for patiently comforting Nico when she couldn’t and well, for everything.

(“Take care of her, Kar,” Alex sits down next to her and offers her a glass of champagne. He smiles at her and moves their glasses together until it clashes and sounds. “I’m happy that you’re both happy.”

Karolina raises her drink and Alex does the same. “Cheers to us finally making it and getting the girl, Alex.”

“Cheers.” Alex empties the content of his glass. “Also, can you help me propose to Livvie next week?”)

Nico continues walking forward towards Karolina, and she feels all the scattered fragments and pieces in her life fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Everything feels like falling — flying into its rightful place. Everything feels like warmth and comfort — it feels like home. Nico gets closer and closer, and she’s sure Nico is her home.

Karolina barely recognizes how to function as an entirety as Alex parts with Nico, gives her a kiss on her forehead, and takes his place besides Chase. Nico slowly yet confidently stride closer to Karolina, like they’ve done this a million times before in twenty other universes, like this was the means and the end, like this was their endgame all along.

Nico stops and so does Karolina’s heart.

She’s looking at the love of her life. She’s seconds away from making said love of her life her wife for all eternity and for all that matter. How can her heart not just stop functioning?

Karolina’s shaking hands take Nico’s and locks it between her own, the beginning of the eternal promise she’s willing to make wholeheartedly. She takes note of the way Nico is tentatively taking deep breaths, the way her cold hands are trembling ever so slightly, the way Nico smiles a very Nico smile at her as she looks up and meets her glazed eyes, the way she’s visibly fighting the urge to kiss Karolina and just get over it.

(Karolina remembers the way she married Nico in her algorithm. She remembers the way it felt too good to be true, how young and naïve she was back then. She remembers feeling a distant ache, a feeling of longing deep in her heart because she knows something is quite wrong.)

Before Karolina gets a hold of reality, she and Nico are already going through their vows, words and sentences that she’s sure they have uttered to each other before. Promises of something better, declarations of undying love, confessions of flaws that do not matter in the end because they’re trying. But that doesn’t help Karolina, because by Nico’s second sentence, she’s already sobbing a river that ends at Nico’s fingers that are brushing it away.

(“Stop crying,” Nico puts her hand to Karolina’s face, gently wiping away the stream of tears coming from Karolina’s eyes. “Are you really this shocked that my biggest hope is to marry you?”

Karolina isn’t really shocked that Nico wants to marry her, not really. In fact, she’s had her suspicions when Tandy pulled that light and dark impromptu speech on her years ago. But she still can’t help but shed a tear or two, because the girl she wants to marry in her best dreams wants to marry her in her best hopes.

Karolina covers Nico’s hand with her own, sneezing and clearing her throat. “Aw, that’s cute. You want to marry me.”

“Shut up. Aren’t you the one who proposed?”

“Still— okay, you got me there.” A beat. “What took you so long to reveal this to me, though?”

Nico closes her eyes, deep in thought. When she opens them, Karolina decided brown is her favorite color. “I’ll never tell.”

Karolina had never wanted to kiss the smug smile off Nico’s face so bad until now. They don’t really make it upstairs.)

For a moment, all Karolina can hear are claps and cheers and whistles. The blaring voices and the loud applause coming from her left didn’t stop her from looking ahead, though, but Nico beat her to it. She’s staring at Karolina like she hung the sun and the moon, and plastered the stars in an abyss of black. She’s staring at Karolina like how the main character in a cheesy romantic comedy stares at the other main character, but she knows that it’s not scripted or forced for the cameras. She’s staring at Karolina and Karolina wants to stare at her too but instead she presses her lips to Nico’s and closes her eyes.

(“Sorry, it’s just I’ve wanted to do that for a really long time.”

Nico stares at her, full of love and awe.)

“I’ve been wanting to do that since yesterday.” Karolina says, temporarily breaking the contact only to get lost in Nico’s brown orbs, her favorite color.

Nico hums in agreement and she leans in again, for a quick peck one time, two times, three times, until Nico tangles her hands into Karolina’s hair like it’s the only thing she can think of right now, gluing them together, unfazed of the audience. A beat or two passes, she pulls away. “Too bad our moms didn’t want to break the tradition because of bad luck.”

Nico scoffs in mock disbelief. “As if we haven’t been through enough shit already.” Nevertheless, she knows how grateful Nico is to Tina and Leslie, for having all of this sorted out, for planning everything, because it would be an understatement to say that a small wedding would be fine because Karolina ends up her wife either way. But she wants the best for Karolina, for this day.

(“Mom!” Karolina hears Nico shouting as she momentarily pulls her hand away from Karolina’s. “Mom!”

Karolina sees Tina turn her head up and raise her brow at Nico in concern. She’s standing by an unfinished version of the arc in front of the altar, filling out flower shop orders and food catering services. “Nico? What is it?”

Karolina doesn’t eavesdrop, but she’s standing so close that she can’t help but listen. Tina makes her way to Nico — no, Tina ran her way to Nico, which is utterly crazy since Karolina had never seen Tina run. Nico, for her part, meets Tina in the middle and pulls her to an embrace. Tina looks surprised as Karolina feels.

“Thank you for everything,” she hears Nico’s muffled voice though her head is buried in Tina’s shirt. Her fiancée looks so small, and she caught her train of thought and liked the sound of fiancée so much that she spent the entire afternoon calling her that.)

Now, she can call Nico her wife.

How they’ve come so far.

Nico chuckles. “Indeed.”

“I’ve said that aloud?” Karolina inquires aloud, pleased at the sound of Nico’s laugh. She doesn’t think she could ever get enough of the way Nico’s nose scrunches or how her eyes closes when she giggles. “God, I’m already embarrassing myself in front of my wife.”

Nico kisses Karolina. “I love you, Karrie.”

“I love you, Nico.” Karolina kisses her back. “Forever and ever, baby.”


End file.
